Kyocera Brigadier – A Phone for Function, Not Fashion

Imagine never having to worry about dropping your phone. It could land on the pavement, in a puddle of water and you wouldn’t fret. You just pick it up and continue on your merry way, without giving your fumble a second thought. Whether you have an adventurous lifestyle, a rigorous job or tend to be clumsy, you may need a durable phone.

If you’re looking for the thinnest, hippest phone, then move along. Nothing to see here. But if you’re looking for a phone that’s practically indestructible and is filled with functional features then stick around. I think you’ll like what you see in the Kyocera Brigadier.

The phone has an impressive list of unique and useful features that will make you wonder why other phone companies haven’t thought of these first. If you’re looking for a phone that can withstand the trials and tribulations of everyday life and has advanced features, then you should consider the Brigadier.

Design

If you hadn’t guessed that the Brigadier was rugged by its name, you’d know immediately from the look of the phone. The Brigadier seems to be geared for battle, by its name, ruggedness and functionality. Even if you’re not headed off to war, you may want this phone as your ally. The phone wears its sturdiness proudly, sporting a rubberized case with rough edges, exposed screws and a raised bezel.

The phone is neither thin nor light, but feels solid in the hand. When you don’t try to be the thinnest and the lightest, you can pack more into the phone.

The Brigadier weighs in at 6.6 oz/187 grams and measures 0.52 inches/132 cm thick, which isn’t much different than a thinner phone with a protective case. The phone has 16 GB of storage which can be expanded with an SD card. The SD card and SIM card slots are accessed on the right side of the phone.

The phone runs Android 4.4.2 (KitKat) and comes with a 4.5″ Sapphire Shield screen (more on that below). The phone comes with 4G/LTE and the call quality over Verizon’s network was extremely clear.

Durability

The phone is designed to take a beating. The phone is waterproof and dustproof, with flaps covering the ports on the phone.

The company says the phone is waterproof for up to 30 minutes in 6 feet of water and can withstand a dust storm for up to 8 hours. The phone has “Military Standard 810G protection against dust, shock, vibration, temperature extremes, blowing rain, low pressure, solar radiation, salt fog, humidity, blowing rain and water immersion,” according to Kyocera so you really should be able to take it into battle (and/or your daily life).

Sapphire Shield Screen

Sapphire glass is a hot topic in tech due to its scratch resistance. Stronger than any substance other than diamond on the hardness spectrum, sapphire glass is more expensive than most types of glass. Sapphire glass hasn’t been widely adopted by cell phone manufacturers though Apple has announced plans to use sapphire glass on certain models of its Apple Watch.

The Brigadier is the first affordable phone to use sapphire glass for its screen. Kyocera has named this feature “Sapphire Shield.”

The glass is so strong that you won’t need a screen protector, whatever you put on it will be weaker than the sapphire glass itself.

Watch as Brad Molen from Engadget puts the Brigadier’s Sapphire Shield through an impressive torture test:

Inductive Charging

The flaps covering the phone’s ports are important in protecting the phone from the elements, but could become a hassle when you’re charging the phone. The good news is that the phone offers inductive charging. Place the phone on its charging mat instead of plugging it in to charge the battery.

Glove Love

If your work involves wearing gloves, you’ll enjoy that the Brigadier can be used when you’re wearing gloves, even when the phone is wet. Rubber gloves, winter gloves, it doesn’t matter, the phone will recognize your taps and swipes.

Buttons

Fans of physical buttons will appreciate the design of the Brigadier. The phone offers physical buttons for back, home and recent apps on the front and a camera button on the right side. You’ll find a power button as well as a speaker phone button on the top edge of the phone. The left side has the volume buttons and the most useful and innovative phone button ever invented: the programmable button.

Programmable Button

This is a “why didn’t someone think of this sooner?” feature that will quickly make you a fan of this phone. The red button on the left side of the phone is programmable to be pretty much whatever you want it to be. Fingers crossed that this becomes a standard feature on all phones in the future…

You can make the red button open your “go to” app, such as email, maps, music, Facebook or your favorite game. The button can also tun into a power button, in case you prefer to turn on the phone from a side button rather than the top. You can also program it to show recent apps or open Google.

Programming the button is as easy as it gets. Go to Settings => Programmable Key and choose which function you want it to have. The choice is entirely yours.

For example, you can assign the flashlight app to the red button. Press the button to turn on the flashlight and open the flashlight app. With the app open, you can keep pressing the button to turn the flashlight on and off, to send Morse code or turn your phone into a strobe light.

Barometer

The phone comes complete with a barometer which you can access using the barometer app. View the barometric pressure and your altitude in this app. This feature can also be used for fitness apps to track your activity level.

Camera

The Brigadier has an 8 MP rear camera and 2 MP front camera. You can access the camera easily by using the button on the right side of the phone.

Here are some sample photos I took with the Brigadier:

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Battery Life

The phone is equipped with a 3100mAh battery which can’t be removed. The ability to swap batteries is sacrificed for protection against the elements. You can always invest in an external battery pack, but you can’t protect against the elements to the degree that the Brigadier does.

Battery life is impressive. According to Kyocera the battery life is:

Talk time: up to 20 hours

Standby time: Up to 365 hours (15.21 days)

You can extend the battery life by using Brigadier’s power saving features, including MaxiMZR which stops updates for apps you haven’t used in the past week. You can also use Eco Mode which conserves power by adjusting screen brightness and other settings, either constantly or when the battery drops below a certain level.

You can also charge the phone more quickly when you’re connected to a computer by using Connectivity Mode. Go to Settings => Connectivity => Charge only. The phone will not attempt to transfer data to maximize charging speed.

Your Thoughts

Do you like the idea of a durable phone? Do you like that the Brigadier is waterproof and dustproof? Do you like that you can use it when you’re wearing gloves? What would you use the programmable button for? Let us know in the Comments section below!

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Comments

Hi Carolyn,
This new phone looks perfect for people who have a pretty reckless life style. Everyone drops their phone occasionally and sometimes gets it wet. My preference is to have a well built “ordinary” phone that does not look like its “battle ready”.

I’ve owned three iPhones and just received my fifth iPad. I use them many hours every day and carry them everywhere. I’ve never damaged one at all. I have a light rubbery case covering the back of the iPhones so they don’t slip out of hand, out of my pocket or off the seat of an airplane.

I know there are people who will buy and benefit from this new phone but I believe it will be a fairly small contingent.

Hi Gary, You’re right, this phone isn’t for everyone. I know someone who has dropped and broken three phones in the past year. Gravity is not her friend. She would be a great candidate for this phone, I hope she reads this review!

People with an active lifestyle, those who wear gloves a lot, those who want that very cool red button or just like the phone may want to consider getting a Brigadier. It’s definitely worth checking out!

This is the phone for a man like me. I do not use my phones roughly but have had them in my pocket with keys and thats not too good.

But this is a man’s phone and a woman who does not mind rugged looks.
Because I like to swim and wear a watch that is water proof. All my watches so far have been able to do that and I have wounld up using them for a minimum of 15 -20 years each. I mean my watch does not leave my hands for anything other than a bath.

Oh Yes! There are times when they could hurt someone and thats probably the only other time they it gets taken off.

A phone that can do that too. I wouldn’t be able to resist it. The battery specs indicate plenty of power and hopefully there is a factory replacement option available. But even otherwise in this day and age a phone with a life of 3 years is plenty.

I would have preferred a slightly higher Mp for the camera but if the quality of image is good, then no real need to crop if photo is taken the way we used to in the old days with transparency film. We did all our cropping in the viewfinder. As long it does not have a high noise profile or poor colour profile, there are enough editing apps to take care of that.

The Sapphire glass seems to be superior to many I have seen on watches in the past.
This one is really tough. I would love to take my phone with me into the water and its very comforting to not have to worry about it when it rains.

I may drop it a few times. i always do. Don’t know anyone who doesn’t actually.
While I may not bounce it off rocks I definitely will not be afraid to sit on it by mistake with all of my 95 Kilos.

Sounds like the phone for me and the torch switch on the side is just what I may need. I sleep with all lights off. My TV and satellite dish boxes which have tiny lights on them are very bright at night so they are usually covered by X-Ray sheets anyway. A hangover from my darkroom days. Printing in colour allows no light in the darkroom and I like my bedroom that way when I sleep.

Yup! This sound like a phone that will not only serve me at home but also in the field with my cameras.

Sounds great and reasonably priced too.
I am comfortable with Android. Have been living with it for a few years now.
No problem, they run and run. Easy to operate and no need to run to the Apple service centre to pay for a malfunctioning button and wind up paying a fortune for a tiny little thing like that.

Thanks Carolyn. This one is definitely on my list.
Will make a great addition to my favourite tools.

Hi Nick, Excellent points. You’re right, a lot of people don’t care about the look of their phone (or other tech), they just want functionality. I’m like you, I wear a Pebble watch, caring more about what it does rather than how it looks.

Yes, it would be a relief not to have to worry about dropping your phone or getting it wet. That feeling of horror as your phone slips your grasp and plummets to the ground would be gone.

That red button is such a great feature! I love having a button I can control. Using it as a power button seems like a waste, the phone turns on no matter what app you use it for so why dedicate it to turning on the phone? Having an instant flashlight is very useful, instead of turning on the phone, opening the flashlight app and tapping it to light the camera flash.

You’re right about the battery too. Many people would gladly trade ounces/grams for extra battery life. The Mophie Juice Pack weighs quite a bit but many people use it to get more hours for their phone’s battery.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts with us, Nick. I’m glad you’re a fellow fan of this phone!Carolyn Nicander Mohr recently published this awesome post..How to Create a Hyperlink

A Phone for Function, Not Fashion ? Really ? I think i love the design too, it’s looks like a military secret phone. IMO nowadays people aren’t seem to be more worried about their glass getting broken or dropping them into a pool. Even mobiles with Non-Replaceable batteries are not bothering people. All that people look for is Battery Life, Speed, Storage Space, Camera/Video capability, and yeah it runs on Android 🙂

Hi Sri, Lol, great point. Fashion is in the eye of the beholder and if your idea of fashion is military ruggedness then this phone is definitely fashionable for you! I draw the line at exposed screws when it comes to fashion but then again, I’m not exactly a fashion icon!

Great post! It’s very informative about this Kyocera Brigadier mobile phone. This is suit for working people that need a phone for function and not for fashion. I’m going to love this phone. Thanks for sharing this article.